Cervix check question

minerswife17 · February 2013

My SIL and I are texting and she said oh just wait until they start checking your cervix. It's so painful etc. I'm a FTM and I'm embarrassed to ask but what's does this mean exactly? What do they do and is this what some of the ladies decline?

SPIJaimie · February 2013

I am also a FTM but I read on the March board that its a discomfort more than extreme pain, however, they say you forget things about child birth so maybe the same rule applies?

mkanderson85 · February 2013

I think it hurts. It is quite uncomfortable.

rayofsunshine99 · February 2013

It wasn't uncomfortable for me - well as comfortable as a doc sticking their gloved fingers in your vagina can be. It can be pretty uncomfortable if they sweep your membranes though, but even so, it's such a small discomfort in comparison to everything that comes with pregnancy and giving birth.... dilation checks were the least of it.

Some people decline being checked though because 1 - it can introduce bacteria to the uterus and 2 - no matter what you're dilated to (or not) it doesn't always mean anything. A woman can be dilated to a 3 and walking around like that for weeks, or a woman could have a cervix with no dilation and her water could break at any time.

Sarra21 · February 2013

A cervical check is when your Dr/nurse uses their fingers to check dilation by feel (2 fingers width dilation = 3 cm, or something like that). Some women decline because every check does put you at a slightly greater risk for infection, as bacteria from the vagina can get forced up into the uterus. Also, cervical progression is really misleading if you're trying to use it as a harbinger of labor and delivery. You can be 3cm for weeks or go from 0-10cm in a few hours, so knowing your dilation might only make you needlessly anxious one you are full term.

I've been doing Fertility Awareness birth control for a few years, so I manually check my own cervix as part of that process to predict ovulation. Given that I can do a cervical check on myself without causing pain (I can't tell dilation, just soft/open/closed), I assure you it should NOT be excruciatingly painful...unless you are contracting, at which point everything hurts anyway. It should be painless and certainly might be uncomfortable, but if it does hurt a lot it's because an unskilled or rushed practitioner (say, a resident) does the check and are too rough, searching too hard, not 100% sure what they are looking for, etc.

I make it very clear when a check hurts and that's the last time that person touches me.

jbatch · February 2013

My dr checks every week now and it is not a big deal.. Uncomfortable but not painful.. Pretty sure bigger things have been up there than a finger..

JenniD2 · February 2013

I had my first internal on Tuesday, and it was painful. I did have an internal done in my 2nd trimester due to pre-term labor concerns, and it was just uncomfortable. My OB blamed the pain on my baby being so low.

I can see why some ladies decline it as it does not mean whether or not you will have the baby any time soon. The only reason I am getting internals is because the plan is have me be induced between 39 and 40 weeks due to medical reasons. My OB want to see if I am dialating. Once/If I start to dialate, they may induce at 39 weeks. Otherwise, I will wait until 40 weeks to deliver.

minerswife17 · February 2013

jbatch:
My dr checks every week now and it is not a big deal.. Uncomfortable but not painful.. Pretty sure bigger things have been up there than a finger..

well that is how I got pregnant hahahaha

heather4hawks · February 2013

I had some brown spotting and had mine checked at 28 weeks. It was really painful for me but only takes a few seconds.

mrs.birdie · February 2013

I find the checks to be uncomfortable, but never painful. It can be slightly painful when a membrane sweep is done.

amykins1283 · February 2013

I've had a few due to preterm labor and the only only that hurt was one I got from a nurse in the hospital. She really had to dig up there for some reason. All the ones I have gotten from doctors have been uncomfortable but not painful. It depends a lot on how sensitive you are, too. I've figured out that I kind of have a cervix of steel and it takes a lot to cause me pain.

letzgoracing81 · February 2013

I just had my first 'check' yesterday. I honestly didn't feel anything. She was quick about it and I experienced no discomfort at all. Keep in mind I am a big baby who usually suffers through my yearly exams....so I was so happy yesterday to find the experience was not horrible.

I am only 1 cm dilated....so I don't know if things get more sensitive down there as a woman progresses.

I did experience some minor cramping AFTER the fact along with some loss of what I can only assume is part of my mucus plug.

ArmyWife114 · February 2013

I was never checked at an appointment, but was checked PLENTY of times during labor (was induced with cervadil so they wanted to know if I was progressing). It was mostly uncomfortable, but on the painful side once I had pretty regular contractions.

ohlordy · February 2013

It means you get fisted by your OB.

Not painful, just a ton of pressure and some discomfort. I had my first at 39 weeks and my second this past Monday at 40 weeks. I haven't spotted or experienced anything painful afterwards.

shibby00 · February 2013

Another vote for uncomfortable, not painful. Also agree with PP with it basically being fisted by the OB.

PandasMama0626 · February 2013

Some women have a sensitive cervix and it depends on the nurse/dr doing the check. My OB is great...I hardly even notice it until shes done and I have a few contractions afterward. The nurse that I had at the hospital though when I went into preterm labor at 33 weeks was PAINFUL. She was way too aggressive and rough, causing some bleeding over the next 2 days. I'm really open with my nurses now and let them know my experience and ask them to take it easy if I have not been checked by them before.

theimpossibleastronaut · February 2013

I declined early checks to avoid the risk of infection. I did have one at my 40 week appointment yesterday and while it was slightly uncomfortable, it didn't hurt really.

beforesunrise · February 2013

Agreeing with the PP about awkward/uncomfortable but not painful. It takes all of 30 seconds though so it's over before you know it. Also worth noting is that it is normal to have some spotting after so don't be alarmed if so.

Kimber517 · February 2013

Yet another vote for uncomfortable not painful. By the time I realized the discomfort though, it was over so its no biggie.. I'm looking at having another one in about an hour and a half at this weeks appt.. Ha!

mamaperk · February 2013

I got checked last Tuesday because I have been having contractions, though I have not gone into preterm labor. It is uncomfortable, but not painful. My doctor told me my cervix is open on the outside but closed on the inside. Which my doctor said was good. Does anyone know what that means?? I've never heard of it before and I didn't ask her before leaving the doctor's office.

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